~ studying the art of fragrance

Roses for June: Caron La Fête des Roses

In honor of June—the month of roses—and as a birthday card to myself, here’s a vintage advertisement for Caron’s La Fête des Roses!

This fragrance was created by perfumer Ernst Daltroff and was released by Caron in 1936. It’s no longer in production, but I bet it was beautiful. It certainly inspired some dreamy visuals from Caron. This ad, with its Flora-like figure, is my favorite. It dates to 1949.

And, because I can’t resist this bit of NYC retail history:

It’s a photograph of a 1950 window display at Bonwit Teller (one of the late, great department stores of Fifth Avenue), featuring La Fête des Roses’ gilded, gridded bottle accompanied by a vase of roses, scattered rose petals, and a backdrop of a stylish couple.

I’ll be wearing one of my favorite rose perfumes today—I’m not sure yet which one it will be.